Numeria, the land of fallen stars. A place known in equal parts for the savage Kellid tribes that roam its plains and hills, and the bizarre technological ruins dotting the same landscape. A brooding barbarian king sits in his palace, served by fawning technomancers. And in the hidden corners of this land, a new divinity stirs; A divinity that will shake Golarion to its core.

In the town of Torch, the settlement's unignorable tower of violet flame has gone out. The only clue to its disappearance is a newly-discovered cave dug nearby. Are the heroes bold enough to unearth the otherworldly secret that sleep beneath the village and reignite the fires of Torch? Or will their first foray into Numeria's ancient mysteries be their last?

So, I'm feeling the itch to run a Pathfinder game, and I feel like going with this, the Iron Gods adventure path! It's one of my favorite, and I've been wanting to launch a game for it for a good while... so why not now?

System: D20 (Pathfinder) - Paizo-published sources only, no 3.5 or third-party stuff, please.Setting: Torch, a town in southern Numeria, in the Pathfinder Golarion world.Genre: Savage Fantasy with super-science!Players and Posting: I'm looking for four players, and will be running a DMPC. I would like a minimum of one post per week.Smut content: Completely player-driven, if any. The game will be run in NC-Exotic, just to cover the possibilities.Deadline: Recruitment is closing off next saturday (10 / 17 / 15)

Setting

So, Iron Gods has kind of a wonky, atypical setting. The adventure path is set entirely within Numeria, a semi-wasteland populated largely by barbarians, with scattered, hardscrabble little outposts of civilization. In between are numerous ruins and dungeons that contain a wealth of arcane and esoteric things - unnatural creatures, technological artifacts, and unusual materials.

Basically start with Clark's Third Law - "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." And then add Conan, season with Fallout and Mad Max, and slap the result into a Dungeons and Dragons game, with all its elves and magic and the like.

Sounds fun! For a little more in-depth detail, the Iron Gods player's guide can be downloaded for free here.

Here's a few images to give an idea of the aesthetic "flavor" we've got going on...

I want a few things from your characters.

Background: I'd like for characters to have some connection to the town of Torch. Maybe it's your home. Perhaps you're related to one of the known locals. It could be that your trade caravan makes regular stops to trade for Skymetals or something. I'll be coming up with a post about Torch before too long to help out with this.

Gender & Orientation: Whatever you like!

Appearance and personality: I'd like people to have pictures, if only for map tokens (yes! maps!) All I ask is that you not use manga / anime style images. As for personality, a character needs to be able and at least somewhat willing to work with a group.

Party selection: I'm going to try to pick up a roughly balanced party. In all honesty it's not something I'm going to sweat over, though; character personality and interest are more important than class. Four interesting sorcerers are a better party to my mind, than a party with boring but optimized melee / caster / divine / skilled classes.

Character Creation & House Rules

Starting Level: Being an Adventure Path, characters start at level 1Abilities: I want to go with a 20-point buy.Races: The seven "basic" races, as well as Changelings, Orcs, Ratfolk, and Skinwalkers.Classes: All Paizo-published classes, including ACG, Pathfinder Unchained and Occult Adventures. No Antipaladins, Samurai, Ninja, or Synthesists, please.Alignment: Any. However, Evil Characters are going to need to find reasons to help out an isolated town in Numeria...Traits: Characters will begin with one Campaign Trait, and two other traits of their choosing. No Flaws or "Additional Traits" Feat.Hit Points: max at 1st level, rolled each level after.Starting wealth: Maximum for your class.

Background skills: I'll be using the Background skills system from Pathfinder Unchained. For those unfamiliar with the system, every level you get two skill ranks that can only be used for one of the following: Appraise, Craft, Handle Animal, Engineering, Geography, History, Nobility, Linguistics, Perform, Profession, Sleight of Hand. Classes still use their standard skill proficiency list. You can still use your "regular" skill points for these skills as well, if you like.

Fractional advancement: Also from Unchained, I'll be using the Fractional Base Statistic system. You can find out what that means here.

Torch takes its name from the violet flame that burns atop its central hill. The fires ignited spontaneously in 4602 AR, and for nearly a year they lanced into the sky, forming a purple column of fire that could be seen for miles around. At the time, the Technic League was experiencing a period of upheaval in Starfall, and its agents were unable to investigate the rumors of the column of fire to the south. By 4604, the flames had died down to a man-sized bonfire, leaving the top of the hill blasted and blackened. Several industrious locals soon discovered the flame's heat possessed two unusual qualities-it was hot enough to smelt skymetal ores and work with difficult materials like adamantine, and the fires themselves radiated a strangely directional heat. A chunk of wood thrown a dozen feet over the fires would instantly burst into flame, yet a piece of paper set a foot from the bonfire's edge wouldn't even smolder. This unique combination of traits made the fire a perfect forge. After a few sudden flare-ups resulted in the tragic incineration of several smiths and their partially completed forges, the townsfolk learned how to interpret the flares and flashes that presaged such an eruption. Rather than build permanent structures around the fire, they came to rely upon portable workshops transported up the hill via wagon or carriage, so that when the fire began one of its unpredictable surges, the smiths could retreat to safety to wait for the blast of fire to recede.

In this way, Torch has sustained itself. By the time the Technic League sorted its internal politics out and sent representatives to investigate in 4612, its agents found a burgeoning village growing around the base of the hill. After a cursory examination of the fire, representatives from the Technic League met with the village's leaders and worked out a deal-as long as Torch sent a monthly tribute of gold north to Starfall, the Technic League would not maintain an official presence in the region. In this way, the League turned what could have been competition (since at the time it still lacked the resources to effectively manage a remote site) into a source of income. Over the decades that followed, Torch grew steadily, yet has never truly prospered, because the Technic League constantly revises the amount of the tribute it requires. Frustrations with and resentments against the Technic League rightly have grown in Torch, yet the League's been careful to never tax the town to the point of rebellion, keeping them in an uncomfortable but relatively stable place between freedom and oppression.

Locations

1. Iven's Livery Stable: Most travelers visiting town leave their mounts and pack animals in the care of lven Lesky, a retired tracker who chose to settle in Torch after falling in love with a young Kellid woman named Annika whom he met when her tribe was overwhelmed by hill giants. Together, they buy and sell horses, doing frequent business with trade caravans drawn to the town's marketplace.

2. General Store: Torch's general store caters to scavengers, artisans, and metalworkers first and foremost, but also carries plenty of gear sought by adventurers traveling through Numeria. The town's unique forge attracts plenty of traders to the local marketplace, some of whom bring rare items which store owners like Inkrit Kollisun uses to stock their shelves. Most of the routine adventuring gear listed in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can be found here, but Inkrit leaves the sale of armor and weapons to the guildhouse artisans.

3. Silverdisk Hall: This busy gambling house features many card tables and dice games, all played with the local silverdisk currency in exchange for whatever money travelers bring with them. Proprietor Garmen Ulreth runs the place, and is rumored to be assisted by a gang of Kellid thugs known as the Ropefists - a name derived from their practice of wrapping their knuckles with rope before using their fists to punish transgressors. Garmen has made a career of providing fine drink, prime entertainment, and sometimes even floor shows for his patrons.

4. The Marrymaid: Given the frequent influxes of fortune-seeking scavengers and merchant caravans, the Marrymaid bordello opened its doors almost as soon as Torch established a successful economy. Wrennie Dalrorn oversees the entertainments inside. Some say she's the illegitimate daughter of an elven prince from Kyonin and a high priestess of Calistria, but she dismisses such rumors with a roll of her eyes and amused smile every time.

5. The Copper Coin: One of the oldest taverns in Torch, the Copper Coin stands right on the western edge of town. This fixture nightspot fills up with patrons almost every evening, and it is especially popular with laborers and artisans looking to relax after a hard day's work. Siblings Lawton and Katina Rimos run the Coin as a quality establishment with good food at reasonable prices. In fact, much like their father, who ran the tavern for 30 years before passing away, they pride themselves on claiming everything costs 'just a few coppers." Lawton runs the kitchen, cooking up signature dishes like spiced lamb and lentil soup with sourdough bread. Katina tends bar, serving up popular drinks like Rusty Ale, Wineberry Mead, Steelforged Stout, and Black Hill Whiskey.

6. Garrison and Armory: A crenelated 30-foot tower rises from this squat barracks housing the town's active militia and guards. Approximately two dozen off-duty guards can be found here, with three times that number patrolling the marketplace and city streets during the day. The connecting armory holds a selection of simple arms and armor for outfitting these conscripts, including crossbows, bolts, spears, and short swords, as well as a few suits of leather armor, chain shirts, and light steel shields.

7. Olander Estate: Serantha Olandir, the charismatic, influential leader of Torch's town council, lives in this large home. She lost her husband 2 years ago to a back alley mugging. Since then, she's made it her mission to ensure Torch doesn't become a den of crime and corruption by taking a more direct hand in shaping its politics.

8. Otterbie Manor: One of the original founding families of Torch owns this expensive manor, built by an enterprising merchant and ex-crusader from Mendev named Orm Otterbie. He passed away several years ago and his granddaughter, Bazlundi Otterbie, inherited his legacy, successfully organizing many of the town's artisans and smithies into a powerhouse consortium. By controlling access to their services and coordinating a communal profit-sharing scheme between them, the Otterbies have become one of the more successful families in town

9. Weeping Pond: This placid-looking pond is set off from the surrounding area by a crescent-shaped escarpment. No vegetation grows on the banks of this pond, and the waters carry a bitter stink of sulfur and other chemicals, enough to make the eyes water after spending too much time on the shore. The pond is fed by an underwater spring from under Black Hill, but no fish live in these waters, for the pond is tainted by runoff from the buried ship under Black Hill. Until recently, the foulness of the water has prevented anyone from discovering that the underwater spring leads into a series of caves under Black Hill. A shallow stream runs southeast of the pond and finally empties into Crowfeather Lake.

10. Crowfeather Palace: The contaminated waters running from the Weeping Pond collect in Crowfeather Lake. Here the taint diffuses to the point where the water becomes drinkable, though it retains a brackish aftertaste. Until recently, long exposure to the water could still cause birth defects and strange afflictions, but since the creation of the strange-looking building here, these effects have been all but eradicated. Called Crowfeather Palace because of its proximity to the lake and its almost miniaturized palatial facade, the building is the brainchild of Khonnir Baine. With the aid of the local priesthood of Brigh, Khonnir built this facility to help purify the waters of Crowfeather Lake. Utilizing a combination of divine and arcane magic with scavenged technological elements, a pipe-like extension from the building constantly purifies the waters around itself as if via a continually running purify food and drink spell, giving the townsfolk a safe source of drinking water.

11. Market Square: The southern shore of Crowfeather Lake is the location of Torch's largest marketplace. This location draws nearly as much attention and tourism as does the flame, for it's here that the town's skilled artisans put their wares on display.

12. Foundry Tavern: One of the more popular hangouts in Torch, the Foundry Tavern is aptly named. Its owner, Khonnir Baine, makes frequent appearances to demonstrate new inventions here-whether mechanical or magical. The tavern itself is always packed, and Khonnir rents out space in his neighboring foundry for visiting smiths and metalworkers to use.

13. Tempting Tonics: This building is home to Jhestine Imierin, the town's apothecary and healer. Jhestine's father was a Snowcaster elf and her mother a Kellid chieftain's daughter. She moved south during a particularly harsh winter and opened her apothecary shop to help the people of Torch deal with the tainted water from the Weeping Pond. Jhestine sells a variety of herbs and special substances, and now that Crowfeather Palace has made the waters of the lake drinkable, she's been able to turn her attention away from her original purpose to crafting all manner of other potions and elixirs for sale.

14. Seven Tears Farms: Fertile fields and orchards line the stream near the southern side of town here. Before Crowfeather Palace, these farms had to rely upon the generosity oflocal churches for water purification, but now the fields are flourishing. The produce grown here feeds most of Torch, thanks to the owner of the farms, a matronly woman named Celda Veed.

15. Town Hall: One of the grander buildings in Torch, the town hall doubles as a second garrison and lookout tower watching over the eastern roads. Council meetings take place in the hall every week on Oathday, but the hall sees frequent use for social gatherings as well, including many dances held in the neighboring square.

16. Chapel of the Wanderer: A somber man named Mylan Radli retired here after the town's previous gravekeeper passed away. Along with the blessings he administers to those passing through Torch, he also conducts funerals and looks after the town's cemetery.

17. Temple of Brigh: Bronze wind chimes and clockwork statues decorate the domed portico of this compound dedicated to the goddess of invention. The oldest faith in Torch, Brigh's temple sees regular worship from many of the town's citizens, and also includes a meticulously organized workshop managed by the town's religious leader, Joram Kyte. His friendly demeanor, active interest in the metal trade, and innovative crafting skills helped land him a seat on the town council many years ago.

18. Evercandle Inn: The name of this establishment refers to the strange alchemical candles used to light its rooms. These showpieces, which never diminish, are arrayed among multiple chandeliers in the common room as well as smaller, portable candlesticks by each bed in the individual chambers. Soceal Murgrave serves as the inn's proprietor, aided by her ever-present attendant Erlmon Reverstoudt.

19. Boarding House: The nine buildings surrounding this small park provide temporary housing for larger parties not wishing to stay at the more expensive inns in town. They see frequent use during the warmer seasons when their owner, Agren Maust, rents out rooms to scavengers, adventurers, and merchants seeking to do business in Torch for weeks at a time.

20. Warehouse District: This large building is home to the guild of metallurgists and artisans established by Bazlundi Otterbie. The guild was founded to support craftspeople in the skymetal trade, and the experts under its banner include several skilled armorers, blacksmiths, and weaponsmiths. The group always keeps a few weapons for sale in their shop.

22. Dolga's Foundry: The sounds of ringing hammers and dwarven songs frequently rise from this busy foundry, which is owned and operated by Dolga Feddert and her team of veteran crafters. An odd transplant from the Five Kings Mountains, Dolga helped found Torch and became the first to test the unique properties of the flame erupting from the hilltop. She also constructed many of the first buildings in town, and is Torch's oldest councilor.

23. Junkyard: Unprofitable components and debris smelted for skymetal invariably find their way to Torch's junkyard on the east side of town. An eerie bleachling gnome named Garritt Burrwaddle received the honorary title of Junkmaster after several decades of obsessively collecting and cataloging the items left here. Aside from hauling away junk no one wants, he provides an invaluable service to those searching for spare parts among the debris in his care.

24. Black Hill: Easily the most recognizable landmark in Torch, this bald escarpment rises at a steep slope in the middle of town. Until recently, the town's namesake torch burned at the hill's peak, emerging from a 5-foot-wide hole in the ground. Today, the flame is out, the hole caved in and filled with bubbling, foul-smelling sludge. The four specially-designed adamantine carts used to ferry ore to and from the fire now stand a short distance down the hill near the Black Hill Craneworks-a building run by Smeltrunner Oskah Unteret. She coordinates access to the flame and ensures merchants pay the appropriate tribute to the town's treasury. She bears no love for the Technic League, but holds the Black Sovereign in high regard, and loudly shares tales of his uniting of Numeria's tribes in every tavern she visits.

Notable NPC's

Captain Aaronlu Langer: Head of the town guard.Bazlundi Otterbie: Town councilor and guild organizerDolga Freddert: Eldest of the town councilJoram Kyte: Councilmember, and deacon of the church of Brigh.Khonnir Baine: Councilor and famed technological wizard.Serantha Olandir: Activist town councilor.Garmen Ulreth: Owner of the Silverdisk Hall gambling house; Jhestine Imierin: Owner of Tempting Tonics, herbalist and alchemist.Junkmaster Garrit Burrwaddle: Bleachling gnome and junkyard manager / scavengerMylan Radli: Local cleric of PharasmaSmeltrunner Oska Unteret: head smith of the Black Hill forge where the Torch is located.Val Baine: Khonnir Baine's adopted daughter and apprentice.Sanvil Trett: Well-off merchant, known for his technological knowledge.

Description & BackgroundStep right up, sir, step right up, come one, come all, gaze upon the marvels and medical mastery brought from abroad by yours truly, Doctor Vincent Vile! If you're in need of a potion, curative, or just a bottle of that little something extra, Doc has precisely what you need for a reasonable price; just give it a day for full efficacy, won't you?

A born salesman with a distressing lack of morals, Doc Vile was a fey-touched foundling that became a criminal product of the orphanages and streets of Starfall. Brilliant and talented enough to gain an apprenticeship in an apothecary and soak up the skills of an alchemist, he was shrewd enough to realize that it was easier to turn a profit if you didn't bother doing the work. His scams usually begin with some legitimate magic, but the bottles sold after the demonstration are inevitably junk: anything from colored water to plaster dust makes the grade. Nor is he above cheating, theft or outright thuggery when the situation called for it.

Vile did well for a while, until the jackboots of the Technic League caught up to him. After a few beatings he realized the game was up; he barely managed to escape with his life and swore to keep on the move ever since. He's made a home, of a sort, in Torch - this time taking a bit of care not to ruin his welcome. Instead, he frequently travels the area, visiting new towns each time, then making a clean escape before the authority's interest turned too keen.

The missing wizard wouldn't normally catch Vile's interest. The whole endeavor seems pretty dangerous. The last group to go in took a hefty purse with them, though, and there are stories of other things below. And if they can find out what turns the Torch on and off his fortune is made! With a few capable looking fellows to do the heavy lifting it's well worth the risk to take a look.

PersonalityDespite his lack of qualms, Vile isn't mean or sadistic. He dislikes violence and takes no pleasure in hurting others. Rather, he's simply not distressed if a few of the luckier members of society are inconvenienced by a redistribution of wealth. Still, he knows the value of honor among thieves and won't cause trouble among his allies; he'll even do what he can to assist them as they handle the thuggery and earn him some coin. He has a brilliant mind and a clever tongue that delights in the experience of language - sometimes to the bedazzlement of his audience.

DescriptionVile is unkempt, unshaven, down on his luck and tattered. Despite the appearance, though, he has the jaunty style and wit of a pauper prince and a knack for transforming at a moment's notice from a ruffian to a selfless altruist. Average height, his body is marked by the leanness of a malnourished youth. He takes particular pride in his long, curling mustache and a gold tooth - legacy of his run in with the Technic League - sparkles when he grins. He's usually found with a shabby tophat, worn shirtsleeves, vest and trousers, covered by a wide belt and a heavy leather jacket. His pockets are stuffed with vials and trinkets. An ironshod cane is a gentlemanly affectation, but it's a solid thing and a few of the dents were gained in back alley brawls.

SexualityDoc Vile has a keen eye for wenches and a delight in carnal enjoyment.

Description & BackgroundAlthough Fereghast claimed the title of Archaeologist, he was in truth no more than a grave robber. So when he stumbled upon the ancient tomb of the boy-king Ra'jin, not hesitating to smash apart the frescoes or discard the desiccated offerings, he naturally took everything he might sell and paid little heed to what significance it might hold. Among such items was a doll - a time-stained marionette enchanted with minor magic, garishly dressed and painted with gossamer ghostly strings ascending from her joints; undoubtedly some toy to amuse the young monarch.

Fereghast could never get the magic to work, however, and finally concluded the spell was broken. While the rest of the looted riches were sold off, the doll remained; it was too lifelike but, at the same time, too disturbingly artificial to be anything but a morbid curiosity. Eventually it was his young daughter, Mia, who stumbled upon the marionette and rescued it from cobwebs and rot for tea parties and dress up, naming it Hannah after a character from her story.

As the games continued, Hannah seemed to come more alive. Some color returned; she was clean and the paint restored. Mia thought her father must have taken a rare interest, while the glaring, glowering father, ever disappointed at the presence of a daughter rather than a male heir, took little notice. Then things would move at night or when out of sight, the doll shifting to a new spot or scattered toys finding their way onto a shelf. Mia claimed her playmate would speak to her, sometimes, reading stories or singing old fashioned nursery rhymes. It would have terrified some, but Mia welcomed the mystery as a distraction from her father's beatings and her empty stomach. Fereghast, when he heard of it, simply assumed the cantrip enchantments weren't as decayed as he'd presumed. But he was rich, by then, respected and too busy to bother trying again to sell a toy. Besides, it kept the brat quiet and away from meetings with his colleagues in the Technic League.

Her awakening during the day, speaking and moving around with increasing ease, seemed inevitable by that point. The staff made a few signs of their gods, but there was enough other magic in the mansion by that point and neither the master nor girl seemed upset. The doll seemed happy enough to take up a few chores, and that was that. For a few years, at least.

By the time Mia was sixteen the fortune had been worn away by high living, bribes, poor investments and scams. The staff was gone, the mansion falling to ruin, and Fereghast's evening port had become a bottle of cheap gin. Drunk, angry, without the coin to buy even the cheapest whores that would ignore his disease, he stumbled into his daughter's room. She'd watched his ruin from afar, with satisfaction, sneering at him; probably helped the swindlers. He demanded recompense.

The girl knew better than to struggle by then. She knew to hold her doll's hand as they cried, waiting for the brute to be done with his rutting. But this time something seemed to break; Mia fought, scratching and kicking, ineffectual. Hannah tried to help, but hardly knew what to do; she animated the other dolls, pushed and pulled, spoke sternly and begged to no avail. Then the knife was in Mia's hand - it had been hidden beneath her pillow - and she stabbed, released the worn walnut handle as Fereghast stumbled back in surprise. There was too much drink in him, though, fortified with poppy. He plucked the blade from his shoulder and the violence began, red, red everywhere until the screaming stopped and he turned to sobbing, trying to shake her awake; the knife fell to the floor.

Then it was in Hannah's curious hand and it was easy, so easy to slip in into the bastard's flesh.

Hannah wasn't charged with a crime, but there was no provision for her, either. Cast to the streets of Torch, she tried to survive by puppet shows and dance while she sought to become a playmate in some new nursery. She likely would have done well in such a role, but in truth she was terrifying; her bloody history and unsettling magic only worsened matters. With the search for Baine becoming more desperate the guard found a simple solution for good riddance: she would join the next expedition, willingly or otherwise.

PersonalityHannah is detached, alien and unsettlingly cheerful about even the worst of things. She is kind, protective, and eager to help, but graceless in her attempts, which usually offend more than endear to her eternal frustration and confusion. She is fond of song, rhymes, and puppetry and these color her speech with odd bits of poetry and drama. Her goals are simple: to care for and teach her charges - with her life, if necessary, as she's come to realize the nursery and battlefield aren't so different after all. She's also found her odd magics are surprisingly adept at destruction - as though she weren't made simply to be a boy king's playmate.

DescriptionAlmost, but not quite human looking, Hannah is petite, slim, and delicate, with pale skin and a garishly painted face in the style of an old puppet. Her white hair is chaotic, jutting wildly at all angles. She is prone to large ribbons, small top hats, stripes and flouncy dresses, although for this expedition she has dressed up in armor just like Sir Buttons. Hannah carries a collection of small, handmade dolls, many blood stained or ragged with age, as well as a few skulls of past family pets, which she's quick to produce for spell casting or impromptu performances.

Appearance: Soma is young, but her serious and dour mien lends her gravitas. Her eyes in particular are haunting, usually the black of charcoal but flaring into a brilliant fire orange when her passions are aroused; not an uncommon occurrence, for both rage and desolation are quick to surface. A gnome, she is barely over 3' tall, thin and wiry but with strength and stamina that reveal her fey heritage.

In normal dress, Soma tends toward the utilitarian - although she can rarely refuse the small touches of design and material that mark fine craftsmanship. She denies vehemently, however, that such arise from any sense of vanity.

Background: Soma's great-great-grand dame, the matriarch of the clan Onilla Blacktorque was a master of the mechanical in a way perhaps unseen for a half millenium before or since. Her works were not merely gears, but machines that spanned planes and functioned beyond understanding. In the final months of her life, as her mind began to break apart from her knowledge, enhanced by injections of celestial elixir, she imagined a machine capable of creating the very stuff of divinity. While she crumbled and broke, Onilla committed the Schematic of the Great Machine to print for her clan to build after her passing.

The Blacktorque clan descended beneath the surface and began to build. Each master, as they gained understanding of the Machine, felt their mind begin to fracture and eventually slipped into madness. They could speak only of beauty, light, and the inevitable perfection of the Machine's function. Under the guidance of the mad, the Blacktorque labored for five centuries, until at last the Machine was approaching completion.

Soma spent her childhood at work, but upon reaching adulthood she joined the Errants; members who would travel abroad to locate parts, information, or specialists not available within the clan. Soma was collecting materials when disaster struck. Returning to the Machine, she found her clan slaughtered - not merely killed but torn asunder by some unnatural force. No other errants returned. At last, lacking any other hope of completing the Machine, Soma opened the Schematic and began to read. The next component, she learned, was to be found among the desert ruins.

Personality: Under the blows of tragedy and slow work of the Schematic, Soma has already begun to feel her sanity thinning. Her rage grows like a force of magic, erupting in the midst of combat as a soul piercing litany of celestial recounting her clan and the Schematic. Soma realizes the change, as well as the inevitability of madness and destruction, but refuses to abandon her legacy. Each night she reads another page of the Schematic.

Those around her, unknowing of her troubles, find Soma melancholy or volatile; she is eloquent and driven but indecipherable. When able to control her emotion, Soma is quiet, reserved, polite and formal. For her part, Soma holds the lives of those who aid her above all else, save only the Machine itself. They are, after all, her new clan and though they don't know it, they carry on the prophetic word of Onilla toward Divinity.

Sexuality: Unknown. If asked, she notes the superiority of a finely crafted tool to meet one's own needs. Probably a virgin, technically.

Man. I'm looking for character art, and I feel like I just recently saw something that might suit that. Let me see if I can find it again.

Edit: My apologies. The one I thought was an interesting fit was one I saw before you provided a description. Would work for an interesting swashbuckler, but not really the right feel for the description you gave.

The description is mutable. If a good image pops up, it can be altered to fit.

I'm down to history and gear. I'm taking local connection as the trait, and probably need some information on the adopted daughter as I'm thinking that they were close friends when she was in town with her parents for trading and business...

Image is artwork in a loose style, woman striding forward through flying debris with a bird (dove or small raptor) in the background; she's holding a rapier, some black leather armor on legs and torso with hints of detail work, long sleeves and gloves, decolletage is open with a bit of lace lapels, several gold necklaces (or one thick one) with a large red gem, a brown hood and cape with matching jewelry and a pair of short peacock feathers, face is slightly shadowed, looks fairly young, with a few straight chin length bangs escaping the hood. Overall impression is capable, tough, feminine and sexy but not cheesecake, and a bit mysterious.

Particularly interested in playing a rogue. Unsure on race just yet. Will find character art and whip up a sheet for GM perusal in a bit to see if what I've got in mind would be a good fit or if there's enough room.

Sounds doable. I have an old link, but don't recall what it is. Can someone describe it to me?

Artwork of woman at the base of stairs, a large window at the top with a rose design; rose petals are falling around her. Broad bladed rapier is thrust forward dramatically at the viewer, a rose petal laying on the blade. Tight dark blue pants with a gold pinstripe, tight white and gold shirt with an asymmetric design and gold armored shoulders, gold armored bracers. Stern face with very full, pouty red lips, pale skin, bright blue eyes. Black hair, chin length in front rising to very short in back, with bright red streaks framing her face. A very narrow purple cape with gold trim flows behind her (maybe just a hand wide, descending from her left shoulder, continuing the jacket's asymmetry) ending in a point rather than squared.